1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to lug wrenches and, in particular, to a novel folding lug wrench which utilizes a hot forged stub socket.
2. Description of Related Art
Prior art lug wrenches have been of two forms, one, solid one-piece hot forged types or folding types. Lug wrenches are made of hot carbon steel which is very tough. This gives hot forged lug wrenches the advantage of being able to withstand a large amount of abuse without being damaged. The disadvantage of prior art lug wrenches is that they do not function well to operate the car jack. In recent years, there has been a trend to use the lug wrench for lug nut removal and to operate the jack. This eliminates the need of the jack having an attached handle which results in weight and cost savings. The prior art lug wrench is made from a stamped handle and a length of hex tubing. The two pieces are held together with a rivet which provides the pivot for the hex tube so that it can fold into the handle. The folding lug wrench's advantage is that it can be used to remove lug nuts and also to operate the jack. The disadvantages are that the hex tube will deform because the sides will round out or the tube will split when it is over-torqued thus rendering it unusable. Lug wrenches are subject to a great amount of abuse.